US 8,526,407 B2 · Extended coordinated multipoint cells to mitigate inter-comp-cell downlink interference

Abstract

Inter-CoMP cell interference is reduced by “extending” at least one CoMP cell to include UEs served by a neighboring CoMP cell in the extended CoMP cell's transmission calculations, so as to minimize interference to the UEs served by other CoMP cells. Each UE in a border sub-cell identifies neighboring CoMP cells from which it receives interference in excess of a threshold value, and includes the interfering CoMP cells in a close-neighbor set. The close-neighbor set is transmitted to the UE's serving CoMP cell controller. When downlink transmissions are scheduled to the target UE, the controller notifies the neighboring CoMP cells in the close-neighbor set, identifying the target UE. Those CoMP cells then use information about the channel conditions from their transmit antennas to the target UE receive antennas to compute transmissions to UEs they serve, with the constraint that interference to the target UE is below a predetermined level.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A method of mitigating interference between Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) cells by a first CoMP cell controller managing transmissions in a plurality of sub-cells comprising a first CoMP cell, comprising:

receiving, from a second CoMP cell controller managing transmissions in a second, neighboring CoMP cell, information identifying a User Equipment (UE) in the second CoMP cell scheduled to receive transmissions from the second CoMP cell during a predetermined transmission duration, the UE in the second CoMP cell also receiving interference from one or more antennas of the first CoMP cell, wherein the UE in the second CoMP cell is in a border sub-cell of the second CoMP cell, wherein such border sub-cell borders the first CoMP cell;
obtaining information about the downlink channel to the UE in the second CoMP cell;
and
scheduling transmissions, prior to the commencement of the predetermined transmission duration, to a plurality of UEs in the first CoMP cell to maximize data rates, subject to the constraint that interference to the UE in the second CoMP cell, due to the transmissions, is below a predetermined level.

1 more element

A Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) cell controller communicatively linked to a plurality of network transceivers, each transceiver providing radio communications to User Equipment (UE) in a sub-cell of a first CoMP cell, comprising:

a first communication interface to one or more controllers of neighboring CoMP cells, the controller operative to receive over the first communication interface, identification of one or more UEs served by the neighboring CoMP cells, the UEs being scheduled for downlink transmissions from their respective CoMP cells and receiving interference from the first CoMP cell, wherein the UEs are in border sub-cells of the first CoMP cell, wherein such border sub-cells border the CoMP cell of the respective UE;
and
a scheduler operative to schedule downlink transmissions to one or more of UEs in the first CoMP cell so as to maximize data rates, subject to the constraint that interference to the identified UEs in the neighboring CoMP cells, caused by the transmissions, is below a predetermined level.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Extended coordinated multipoint cells to mitigate inter-comp-cell downlink interference

Life of this patent

Extended coordinated multipoint cells to mitigate inter-comp-cell downlink interference

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22